Activating the Mind's Eye of the Kagura

"Please, Lord Orochimaru, our clan relies entirely on you." The elder bowed respectfully to Orochimaru, looking at him with eyes full of anticipation.

"Rest assured, I will restore your clan to its former glory," Orochimaru promised indifferently.

Eiyuling stood to the side, inwardly sneering. How foolish. All Orochimaru offers them is destruction.

Yet, they had no choice but to rely on Orochimaru, for they did not wish to perish; after all, Orochimaru was their final hope.

But what did that have to do with her? This was their own choice. Such clans were all the same, through and through...

Eiyuling sat alone on the mountaintop, staring blankly at the bustling village in the distance. Orochimaru had gone off to attend to some business, leaving her to sit there and catch the breeze. Just then, she found herself surrounded by a group of people before she even realized it. Her heart turned cold and detached.

Seeing her show no reaction, they roared in fury, "You're the one who follows Orochimaru, aren't you! Didn't you promise to revive our clan? Why are they all dead?!"

The man bellowed, his eyes bulging and his mouth wide as he screamed, as if he wanted to swallow Eiyuling whole. He was clearly on the verge of a breakdown, likely having had his last shred of hope stripped away.

Eiyuling chuckled softly, sensing the situation around her.

Twenty people. They really won't stop trying to squeeze me dry. She sneered internally. She didn't believe for a second that Orochimaru hadn't fanned the flames of this vendetta.

"Where is Orochimaru! If you don't tell us, we'll kill you!" another man shouted, panting with rage and glaring at Eiyuling through gritted teeth.

However, their remaining reason was completely devoured the moment they saw Eiyuling's calm, indifferent expression.

"Just die!" he roared and charged at her. The others no longer hesitated, swarming forward with the sole intent of killing her.

"Mommy, look, this candy figure is so pretty." A child excitedly showed off his treasure to his mother. "Haha, it really is! How about we go look over there?" the mother said gently.

"Okay!" The child jumped and ran ahead, his heart full of joy. Just as he was about to turn back to tell his mother to hurry, he looked on in confusion as his mother reached out to him, her face filled with terror.

"No!!!" the mother screamed in despair, watching helplessly as a massive, flying boulder struck her child.

A splash of blood. The mother fell to her knees, her eyes splitting with grief, and wailed, "Ah!!"

Elsewhere.

"Cough, damn it, they're insane." Wiping the blood from the corner of her mouth, Eiyuling muttered with resentment. She hadn't cursed in a long time. She hadn't expected these people to possess Kekkei Genkai, nor that they would have fire-style techniques to counter her own, or individuals with monstrous strength. They had forced her into a corner where she couldn't even use her abilities.

Eiyuling thought she was going to die. She had fled to the village in a pathetic state, hoping they would hold back out of concern for others, but they had simply decided to kill everyone in their path.

Eiyuling looked at the child in her arms. Seeing the fierce, murderous look in the eyes of a stranger, he began to cry softly in fear. Eiyuling felt even more irritable. "Shut up!"

She, who only brought destruction while by Orochimaru's side, had saved someone for once, only to nearly lose her own life. Now, her left leg throbbed with a burning pain.

The child struggled desperately, breaking free from Eiyuling's arms, and grew even more anxious as he looked at the unfamiliar surroundings.

"Waa!" The noisy crying reached her ears. Eiyuling felt a jolt of alarm, hurriedly covering the child's mouth and leaping far away from their original position just as a fire-style technique incinerated the spot where they had been.

Before long, they were surrounded again. Eiyuling realized that carrying this child was nothing but a burden; if she abandoned him, she could run much faster. She didn't notice that her gaze was becoming increasingly terrifying, and the child's fear grew as he stared at her.

"Ah! Mommy, where are you? Wuu wuu wuu!" He wailed even louder. Eiyuling felt her irritation peak. I really want to strangle him... he's like a piece of dead weight... I'm going to get killed because of this...

Seeing her distracted, the men seized the chance to attack. Instead, they saw Eiyuling grab the child by the throat, a crazed expression on her face. "Chirping and chirping, just die already!"

"Help... me..., Mommy, Mommy..." The child repeated, calling for his mother. The surrounding men involuntarily froze. Although they could destroy a village without a second thought, the act of killing a child with their own hands felt wrong—after all, they had once been people with families of their own.

"Die!" A figure flashed behind Eiyuling, a kunai thrusting straight toward her heart.

Eiyuling dodged with a light shift, easily evading the attack. She tossed the child far away and glanced at him coldly, watching him slam into a tree in the distance.

A fire-style technique came at her head-on, but her body moved as if it had already predicted the path, dodging once more. In the next instant, she moved beside a short man, her kunai slicing across his throat. Blood sprayed, yet not a single drop touched Eiyuling. He tilted his head with difficulty, looking at her in disbelief before collapsing.

The others stared at the fallen man in shock, a sense of dread beginning to take hold for reasons they couldn't name. "You've been using genjutsu on me, interfering with my chakra, but I've finally found you, hahahaha!" Eiyuling laughed like a madwoman. "Die, just die! Hahahaha!"

"Now then, it's your turn!" Eiyuling finished, moving at high speed toward the others. Her movements were fluid and without a single pause as she killed everyone in her path. They scrambled to activate their ninjutsu, but not a single one hit her. They watched in utter disbelief as their companions were slaughtered, before finally meeting their own ends...

Watching them all lie dead, Eiyuling turned silently to look at the child. He was still awake, staring blankly at Eiyuling, who was stained with blood, as she walked toward him. He had even forgotten to cry.

"Oh, there's still one left here." Eiyuling crouched down, her eyes full of playful malice as she looked at the child.

He watched the kunai slowly approach his heart, dazed and silent. Just then, Eiyuling clutched her head in agony.

"Go back!" she roared as if issuing a command. Her head felt like it was splitting open as she knelt on the ground, clutching her skull. It felt as if her brain were being struck by a heavy hammer. A piercing sound echoed in her mind, and even the objects before her began to split apart; the world itself began to sway.

"Ah!" she screamed in pain. The next instant, Orochimaru's figure appeared silently beside her, his faint smile full of mystery. He struck, knocking Eiyuling unconscious in a single blow.

"How interesting, to have such a surprise. Eiyuling, you really do bring a lot of amusement, hehe." Orochimaru chuckled as he picked her up. He was about to leave when he caught sight of the child. He paused, then said slowly, "Oh? A decent specimen."

The boy stared blankly at Orochimaru, his young face unreadable. Whether he was scared witless or something else entirely, no one could tell.

A gust of wind blew, and there was no one left in the clearing.

"Beep..." In her haze, Eiyuling only heard the sound of a few instruments, and then she lost all consciousness.

Qingsi looked at Orochimaru and said respectfully, "My Lord, everything is prepared. Shall we begin now?"

Orochimaru looked at Eiyuling lying on the platform, the corners of his mouth curling upward. "Everything has been prepared for so long; let us begin. I, too, wish to see the results of this research."

Qingsi opened his mouth as if to say something, looked up at Orochimaru, but upon seeing those snake-like eyes, he lowered his head again. His cold face remained devoid of any expression.

Orochimaru's cold, serpentine eyes turned toward Eiyuling. What kind of miracle will Uzumaki Eiyuling create this time? I am truly looking forward to it. Let us hope the child of that person does not disappoint, hehe...